Your Friends Are Your Family (San 27)

Our Mishnah on Daf 27 quotes a statement by Rabbi Yehudah who states that that one's close friend and one's enemy are disqualified to judge or testify about a person. Alone this statement wouldn't mean very much. However, when we look at the context of this statement, it becomes much more meaningful.

The bulk of the Mishnah deals with relatives (father, brother, uncle) who are disqualified from serving as judges and witnesses because of their proximity and bias toward the accused. Therefore, when Rabbi Yehudah defines a "close friend" as someone who serves as a shushvin, a groomsman (defined by tradition as a close friend who brings gifts of food and drink to one's wedding feasts) we can begin to get a picture of how Yehudah saw his friendships.

According to R. Yehudah, those "groomsmen" weren't just buddies, but were like family. They had a special connection, a filial and familial obligation well beyond the scope of basic "friendships." 

As someone planning a wedding, I think a lot about the balance between family and friends. It's good to know that for R. Yehudah, they aren't so far away from one another.